Gregor and the End of Phophecy
by Penya
Summary: I feel there should have been another book after the Code of Claw. At the end of which you see less people believe in Sandwich's prophecies than is believed. Gregor can't live above ground, they can't move, and Gregor and Luxa just plain need each other!
1. Where Has my Bright Light Gone

Gregor the Overlander Fanfic

Too Bright the Sun

Gregor was annoyed. It was bad enough when strangers he passed in the street had gawked at him, but even Angelina and Larry? Not just his friends, but nearly the entire school seemed to be eyeballing him all day long. They gossiped about him when they thought he could not hear them, but his hearing had become sensitive during his time in the Underland so Gregor ended up hearing enough to grate on his nerves all day.

During the summer he had suddenly disappeared, as had his mother and youngest sister, and he had missed the first few months of school. At the time he had been fighting in a war with the specified job of killing a gigantic, psycho rat called the Bane. Telling the school, however, that he had spent the beginning of the school year in the Underland, a place deep below the surface of the earth that no one knew existed, would have gotten them all sent to the mental hospital. Instead, the story was that his mother had fallen ill, true enough, and, as his father was still in poor health himself, also true, they had sent Gregor and his two younger sisters to live with some relatives in Virginia. His parents were still debating moving to Virginia now, but with his grandmother in the hospital it seemed unlikely to happen.

Gregor had missed some additional school time in order to heal the wounds he had made himself on his hands in breaking the sword that had belonged to Sandwich, a supposed seer who's prophecies where revered by the Underlanders. Though, Gregor had his doubts where Sandwich was concerned. After his most recent experiences with Sandwich's prophecies, Gregor was certain that the seer had been nothing more than a man who had locked himself up in a room to right nonsense on the walls. The Underlanders took his writings very seriously though, and he would have lost respect with them if he had knocked their little savior.

"Not," he thought, "that I'll ever get a chance to go back." He wanted too. He had friends in the Underland that he missed greatly, and he was worried about them. They had just ended a war with the gnawers, the underland's term for rats, and it looked like they were headed strait into another with the cutters, giant ants that inhabited lands in the east of the Underland. In the mess that had been the official offering of surrender from the rats to the humans that had led to the bonding of queen Luxa to the rat's official delegate, Ripred, Gregor had broken Sandwich's sword, thereby ending his role as "the warrior". He was no longer needed in the Underland; not that his mother would have let him go even if he had been.

But, there was a heavy cavity in his heart where something, someone, was missing. He kept a picture with him at all times. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he had taken that picture with Luxa, their weak smiles twinged with sadness. It had been just before Gregor had flown off to the city wall to fight the Bane, a battle they both believed he would die in. He would liked to have kept the one that had been taken at Hazard's, Luxa's cousin, birthday party, before the war with the gnawers had started. Luxa had coxed him into dancing, and someone had gotten a snapshot of them during a step where Gregor had to pick up Luxa and twirl her around before setting her feet back down. It had been fun, and you could see the joy on their smiling faces. It was a happy picture from a dream that was far too short. He had let Luxa keep that picture, and he had taken the sad one they had taken later, after the happy dream had been shattered.

The war had left him scared inside and out. Nightmares of falling to his death plagued him at night. Since bonding with Ares, a strong black bat that had saved his life on his first visit to the Underland, Gregor had lost his fear of heights. But Ares had died in their fight with the Bane, and now the dreams had come back more vivid than they had ever been before.

During his adventures with Sandwich's prophecies, Gregor had discovered that he was a Rager, someone with an inborn instinct for battle. One that made the person a deadly force in battle, but was hard to control. Gregor did not even remember what had happened many of the times he had used his rager instincts. It was like he had been possessed by someone else during battle. Gregor had been learning to control this ability during his time in the Underland, and he had succeeded slightly. He was now aware while he raged, and he had learned how to recognize and activate the rager sensation. However, he was far from being safely in control of his ability; and had yet learned how to turn _off _the rager sensation at will. Ripred, a Rager with full control of his ability, had warned him to be careful when he returned home; he was dangerous. He could easily end up killing someone whether he wanted to or not. Gregor was still scared when he left the apartment he shared with his parents and sisters that something would set off the rager instinct and he would hurt, or kill, someone.

His entire family was struggling, emotionally, physically, and psychologically. In their sorry state, it seemed ridiculous that money should be important at all, but the reality is that life will keep moving forward, if you are ready to or not. Reality will always rear it's ugly head sooner or later, and for them it seemed like it was going to be sooner, rather than later.

Gregor looked for whatever odd jobs a twelve year old could do to help bring in a little money. His dad was even looking for work; although, with his health, he was unlikely to find any. The suit case full of things he had taken from the museum that could potentially be sold for money had already been emptied of anything of value. If it were not for Mrs. Cormaci, a neighbor whom knew all about his family and their troubles in the Underland, Gregor did not know how his family would have managed at all. When his father had gone missing for nearly three years, his mother had had to provide for the family on her own, and Gregor had taken responsibility of taking care of Lizzie and Boots. Their father still suffered from relapses of an illness he had picked up from the Underland and did not seem to be able to completely get ride of, and that was aside from the psychological damage from his time as the rats prisoner of war. Their mother had had to work even harder to support three ailing adults and three growing children. After going missing for nearly a year, his mother had been fired from her jobs as a waitress and as a receptionist at a dentists office. She was searching for work, but until she was hired they had no income. Mrs. Cormaci was pretty much supporting his entire family financially, and Gregor found himself wishing, as he had for years, since the time his father had first gone missing, that he was old enough to have a real job.

Unfortunately, Gregor was only twelve, and it was required by law that he go to school. So, here he was in school, wearing long sleeves and pants, both of which where too small for him, in order to hide the many unexplainable scares he had acquired in his recent adventures. But, he could not hide all his scars, and some of them were evident in the nonphysical changes in him. Grief still cloaked him like a shroud, and his smile took visible effort. He was sensitive to light and sound; his father had to write a note to the school to get them to allow him to wear sun glasses in school. At some point Gregor had stuffed kleenex into his ears muffle to lesson the sensory input his sensitized ears picked up. Thankfully, his over grown hair mostly hid the little while pieces of tissue in his ears.

It was lunch and he was sitting with his friends, Angelina and Larry, like he normally had at school, in another life. A life before he had learned to kill. He caught his two friends exchange worried looks.

"Gregor, are you sure your OK, man? I mean, you don't look so hot."

He was almost surprised his friends had managed to wait this long before asking. He had been expecting them to interrogate him the moment they saw him. Which they had seemed ready to do, that was until they ran up to him and finally got a good look at him, at which they had backed off and left him alone.

"I'm fine, guys, really." He dredged up a smile for them, but it only seemed to make them more concerned.

"Gregor, what happened to you over the summer," Angelina asked, her forehead creased with worry.

In P.E., Gregor handed over his parent note to be exempt, and rushed to the bleachers where all the kids in casts or with bad asthma sat watching the rest of the class play basket ball. Before, Gregor had been on the track team and had played saxophone in the band. Now, it was too dangerous for him to be on the track team. Wearing shorts would show off the scars he had gotten fighting cutters in the Vineyard of Eyes, which were too strange to explain away. He did not want to involve himself in any physical activity, anyway, in case it set off his rager side. The noise in band was too painful for his ears. Just as well, since as he did not have the heart to participate in either activity.

Instead, as the days went by, Gregor spent his time after school trying to make a few bucks. Usually, he did not have much luck. It was on one of those usual, unlucky days that he found some high school boys bullying a boy who looked a little younger than Gregor himself. He tried to walk away, to avoid violence at all costs, but when one of the teens started to punch the boy, Gregor lost it. He Raged. A tree branch was in his hand. The first boy was on the ground, motionless, unconscious but not dead. He could control this. He could aim for non-life-threatening points. His enemies where so weak, so helpless. Gregor found himself smiling as he played with them and lapped up their fear, their terror.

Gregor blinked. Lizzie was having a panic attack, and Boots was screaming at him.

"Stop! Bad Gregor, Bad Gregor! Gregor stop now! Bad! Bad! Bad!"

His victims ran, leaving behind the unconscious miscreant that had started betting up the little boy. The boy Gregor had been trying to protect was huddled, terrified, in the bushes that lined the park. Gregor bent down to check the teenager's pulse. In his panic, Gregor had a hard time finding the boy's pulse. Finally finding it, and feeling a soft breath on his cheek when he leaned his face over the boys mouth, Gregor fell back on the ground in relief.

"He's alive, he's alive," he kept chanting to himself.

The was a rustle in the bushes behind him; Gregor leapt up ready to fight. The scared child he had rescued took off running, wailing in fear as he went.

Lizzie and Boots walked towards him wearily. It hurt him to see that fear in their eyes; even more to know that that fear was of him.

Lizzie swallowed, fighting off a panic attack. "Is, I..s...is he...de...dead?"

"No," Gregor shook his head. "He, he's alive"

Lizzie nodded, still trying to stave off an attack. Boots was wailing.

"Boots, Baby, it's OK. It's all over. It's OK now." He picked her up in his arms and bounced her up and down, stoking her hair. He took Lizzie's hand, "slow breaths, Lizzie, I'm me now. Everything is fine." He held his sisters to him as he calmed them down enough to lead them home.

When his parents saw them, they launched into a tirade of panic.

"What is it; what happened?" "Are you hurt?" "Where were you?" "Where you attacked?" "Was it the rats?"

"No, I," Gregor gave up. Handing Boots to his mother, he grabbed a paper bag, sat Lizzie down, and got her to start her breathing into the paper bag. When Lizzie had calmed down enough to manage on her own, Gregor left his family in the kitchen and crawled into his bedroom.

What had he done? He could have killed that boy, and the others...That was the worst part. Gregor had _enjoyed _it! He had _liked_ hurting them; he had _reveled_ in their fear. Gregor clutched his pillow to him and buried his face in it.

He wished he could talk to Ripred. He would understand; he had gone through the same thing.

What was Gregor doing up here? He did not belong in the Overland. He did not belong anywhere, but at least in the Underland there were people who knew, who understood, there was Ripred.

God, what was he going to do? Surly, the cops would be looking for him now. What if his family got in trouble because of him? His family could not afford a layer. Hell, they could not afford a train ticket to the court house. Even if the cops never did find him, what if it happened again? There was no way he could go through the rest of his life without witnessing violence.

It had taken Ripred _years_ to learn to control his Rager ability, to be able to turn it on and off at will. If it had taken that scary, killer rat so long to master it, it would take him even longer. And then, wasn't there something about rats learning faster than humans. Gregor remembered Ripred mentioning something like that when Gregor had dumped the baby Bane on the old rat after the "prophecy of Bane" fiasco. They certainly grew up faster, the Bane had gone from a shivering pup crying for its mother to a twenty foot mass murderer committing genocide with an army of gnawers behind him in a matter of months.

Would Gregor ever be able to control it? Would he turn into a monster that enjoyed hurting and killing others?

"Am I already a monster," Gregor wondered. His walls did not answer him.


	2. Too Bright the Sun

_I do not own the Underland Chronicles_

**Too Bright Sun**

Evey scratch of little claws in the walls, every cockroach that braved their floors, every bat that flew past his bedroom window hunting, they all caused his heart to ache with pain and longing.

His parents had him coming strait home after school now, giving him all the time in the world to wallow in his misery. So far, it did not seem like the police were after him, but the sound of sirens or the sight of a police uniform still caused his heart to race. Apparently, his parents where just as scared. And so, Gregor had all the time in the world to stare at her picture, to miss her, to remember.

The door creaked as his family came back from the park. Boots must have been asleep because he did not hear her excited chatter. He could hear Lizzie's laughter though. She had become much more alive since her adventure in the Underland. Lizzie missed it nearly as much as he did; or, to be more correct, she missed Ripred almost as much as he missed Luxa. She was forever spouting out "Ripred said" this and that. Gregor knew the rat had been able to give his sister a sense of security, safety, that Lizzie seemed to need so badly. Recently Gregor had been trying to teach her echolocation, the skill of being able to see with sound, that Ripred had taught him so he would not be helpless without light. Lizzie was a diligent student and tried hard. She was big on studying and homework, but he was sure she tried so hard because it gave her a sense of connection to Ripred.

They practiced sending each other messages using clicks, scratches, and taps from the Tree of Transmission, though this was more to give Gregor something to do and because Lizzie insisted they practice.

The floor boards creaked out side his room. Gregor pretended to be asleep as his parents peeked in to check on him. The footsteps moved away, and Gregor sat back up. There was movement from the door way. Lizzie was still there.

"Gregor," he pulled back the covers and patted the bed beside him. She climbed up beside him.

"Do you think we will ever see them again?" There were tears in his sisters eyes, a catch in her voice. He held her and let her cry on his shoulder.

Gregor did not know how to answer her. They had tried to convince their parents to let them go back, but they had had no luck. His parents had just gotten their children back. His family had just been reunited, but he felt like he did not belong in New York City, in the Overland.

It was hard to get used to having parents again. Gregor remembered all the times in the Underland that he had wished for a parent that would take care of things for him, parents to make things all better. Gregor had had to face danger, loss, fear, and grief all on his own. It seems stupid for his parents to worry about him walking alone at night after he had fought and killed in a war.

His parents seemed to be having as hard a time knowing how to react to him as he was to them. Mrs. Cormaci seemed to have an easier time. Her husband had fought in a war, and she understood him better than his mother and father, as hard as they tried, could.

Angelina and Larry came to visit him a few weeks later. They somehow managed to convince his mother to let Gregor go sledding with them. It had snowed a few days earlier and Larry's mom had loaded their car up with sleds. She was going to drive them to a park and pick them up later.

"All right," Gregor's mom finally agreed, "but take your sisters too." They were all elated. Gregor was anxious to get out of the house.

He bundled Boots up in her winter gear and laughed with her when she put her hat on backwards, covering her face.

"This way, Boots," he said fixing the hat. Gregor picked her up and set her on his hip, heading out the door way. Boots was getting heavy. Eventually, he would not be able to carry her any more.

Lizzie hovered in the hallway until Gregor took her hand in his free hand and led her out of the apartment to the car where Larry and Angelina waited for him.

"Did you know, some kids are saying that they have seen a ghost in central park," Angelina said. She seemed excited. Larry seemed exasperated.

"Come on, Angelina. No one actually believes in those stories."

"Quite, Larry, you're ruining my story." Larry rolled his eyes, but Gregor noticed he was smiling. Gregor had gotten a feeling for some time now that his friend had a crush on Angelina.

"So they say the ghost is this albino girl that's so pail her skin is see through and that she wears this wear fairy like clothing with a sword and everything." Angelina had Gregor's full attention.

"They say she's real shy, and runs away when she sees people. One said that when his dog ran up to her she tried to cut his dog's head off!"

Lizzie was staring at Angelina. Thankfully, she was in back with boots, and no one was looking at her. When Angelina turned to argue with Larry, Gregor looked his sister in the eyes and shook his head.

Gregor was glad when the discussion ended, and they got out to take the sleds out of the back. It was only after Larry's mother had driven away in their tan minivan that Gregor noticed where they were. Why he had not thought of it earlier he had no idea. There were other places to go sledding in New York City, of course, but Central Park was obviously the most popular. If his mother found out she would lock them all in the house for a month.

"Don't tell mom," he said to Lizzie when Larry and Angelina took off towards the hills, Boots tottering after them.

"Come 'er, Boots!" He scooped her up and ran after his friends. By the time he had taken Boots down the hill and back to the top in one of Larry's sleds, Lizzie had finally made it to them. All three of them went down the hill together this time.

Gregor was not sure how much time had passed before boots started to do her "potty dance". Lizzie and Angelina went off to find the nearest bathroom. Larry and Gregor walked away from the hill to make snowmen to surprise Boots with when she got back. Somehow, Gregor found his feet had lead him back to the man whole that lead to the Underworld.

"Wow, this is perfect! The snow here completely untouched. It'll be easier to make snowmen here." After that, Gregor could not find it in himself to ask his excited friend that they find someplace else. As Gregor finished off the second snowman, Larry took off yelling back at him to make sure the snowmen where not destroyed while he went to get the girls.

And so, Gregor was left alone next to the entrance to another world. A world he very much wanted to run away too. He no longer had any place in there, nor did they have need of him any longer. He belonged in the Underland just as little as he belonged in the Overland. Yet, Gregor longed to be there, in the Underland, with the person he missed so very much.

"Great," he thought, "I miss her so much I've conjured up her image." Except, a figment of your imagination did not bowl you over and knock you into the snow. "I must have slipped on a rock and hit my head," Gregor thought, burying his face in her soft silver white hair. It was not until she began shacking him that Gregor realized that he had not dreamed him up.

"I thought you had gone thousands of miles away! I thought you were gone forever! What are you doing here? Did something happen to your family? Why are you forming strange piles?"

She was crying. He reached up to brush the tears from her cheeks, hardly noticing his own. "What are you doing here," he asked, still not quite believing she was real.

She blushed. "I came up here to think of you; to see a little of your world."

They began to talk, and simply enjoy each other's company in the twilight of the setting sun. Luxa had run away the first time she uncovered the man whole to peek in on the Overworld. She had come up to the midday sun, and her eyes had been unable to adjust to the searing light. Ever since she had waited for the pretty colors of the setting sun to show her it was safe to come out to the world above.

"I thought of the beautiful lights behind you when you left, and I wanted to see them again. I wanted to see a bit of the world that you lived in." She talked some about how they had begun to rebuild Regalia, and the people's reception of her newest bond. Gregor began to tell her of what had happened since he returned to the Overland.

"Gregor! What were you and Larry thinking? Larry's mom has probably been waiting for us!" Angelina was dragging an embarrassed Larry along beside her with a fist in his jacket. Larry seemed to find his ruff treatment somewhat pleasant, and was smiling shyly. Lizzie and Boots followed behind them.

They were all just in time to see Luxa sock Gregor, pummeling him back into the snow.

"You idiot!" She was screaming at him. "If you were here the whole time why didn't you come see me?! Why did you let me think you were gone forever if you were right here the entire time?! Idiot! Buffoon! Imbecile! Nitwit! Dolt!" Each insult was followed by a half hearted punch.

"I'm sorry! Sorry! Really, Luxa, I'm sorry!"

* * *

**help?**


	3. GoodBye Again

_For all those amazing people who read my story before I added this chapter, I added a little onto the last chapter so you may have to go back and read it._

**Peer Into a Bright New World**

"Wow, that's some ghost," Larry gaped at him.

"Luxa," Lizzy questioned, but the Underworld girl just continued to pummel him halfheartedly until she ran out of energy and sank to the ground crying.

"Bad Gregor," Boots huffed at him. It seemed like that was becoming a favorite phrase of hers. She waddled her way over to the sobbing girl and patted her on the back. It was her way of rubbing the girl on the back the way he and their mother did to calm her down. Gregor sat up and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry. Really, Luxa, I am." She turned her face into his shoulder for the few moments it took her to take control of her emotions.

It was at the last of those moments that Angelina could no longer control her excitement. Her eyes where popping out of her head as she yelled, "the ghost is real!"

Luxa jumped up in surprise, apparently during her outburst she had failed to notice the two "strangers". Gregor had to grab her arm to keep her from drawing her sword. "It's alright, Luxa! They're friends!"

"Are you sure, I was attacked by some small hairy creature a few days back. When I defended myself, an Overlander became exceedingly upset. Was that thing his bond? It did not seem like a very intelligent bond."

"So you _were_ the one that attacked Brian's dog!" Angelina was having the time of her life.

"Luxa. Luxa," a familiar voice was calling from the man whole. "Luxa, we have to go."

Gregor leaned over to peer down the manhole, and Howard's head appeared in the moonlit depths. Luxa's cousin seemed to have matured a little since he had last seen him, but then, they all had.

"Gregor? Gregor, is that you?" Howard looked like he had seen a ghost, his pale skin had gone even more translucent.

"No way! There's another one!" At least Angelina was thoroughly enjoying herself.

"Hi, Howard," Gregor gave him a little smile.

"He was here the entire time!" Luxa pointed an accusing finger at him. "They never left, and he didn't bother to contact us even once! Not once!"

Howard looked started, whether it was due to Gregor's lack of courtesy or Luxa's unusual behavior wasn't obvious.

"Hi, Howard." Lizzy waved shyly, Howard smiled, warmly, back at her.

"We must go," Howard repeated, almost apologetically to Gregor.

Gregor took Luxa's hands in his own and looked into her eyes. That day had been a dream come true, and like all dreams, it was time to wake up.

"I will come again," she told him. Gregor just nodded. Boots spoke for both of them, waddling over to the Underlander, slamming herself into the girl's knees in a hug.

Howard took Luza's hand and guided her back into the tunnel, both paused and looked back before disappearing into the darkness of the tunnel.

A month later, Gregor had yet to see Luxa again. Sneaking out each night, he traveled the considerable distance to the park and back, to return just before the fall of true dawn. That brief meeting weeks ago was all that was keeping him going. School seemed to become even more of a chore as Angelina and Larry used that time to try and interrogate him day after day. Gregor had no idea why he did not just tell them everything. Angelina, at least, would be inclined to believe the fantastical tale. Yet, for some reason he did not. He told himself it was because he did not want them to become involved in such a dangerous world, but it seemed to have much more to do with the pain he felt when talking about his adventures, the friends he had lost, the deaths he had witnessed, the deaths he had caused, the love that seemed to be becoming more and more lost to him as time went on. He did not want to connect his friends, innocent as they were, in his eyes at least, to the that world. Part of him liked having a secret, liked that the feeling that the Underworld was for him alone. Another part just liked their interrogation. The questions reminded him that the experience had been real, that _she_ had truly been there.

" Hey! Hey, Gregor, wait up!" Angelina was running after him, pulling Larry in her wake with one hand and waving at him dramatically with the other. Gregor tucked his chin down and began walking down the opposite hallway, Angelina shouting and waving after him. His friends seemed to be having much more trouble than he was navigating the stream students flowing to and from their lockers. _Huh, would you look at that. So there is a practical use for my abilities in this world_, Gregor thought, smirking to himself.

Hands coming towards him quickly, Gregor sidestepped away from the hands to find a classmate stumble from the momentum of his intended push. Angry eyes bored into him, and the boy clenched angry fists, his breathing hard. Gregor just stared back at the boy passively. What was causing the boy's anger? Gregor could not even remember the boy's name, despite having been in the same class all year.

Angelina's quick, determined footsteps broke their staring contest, the boy turning away and melding back into the crowd of other students.

"Nice of you to finally decide to wait for us!" She spat at him, hands on her hips. Larry shifting from foot to foot, nervously, behind her.

"Hey, Angelina, who was that," Gregor asked, ignoring her temper.

Angelina huffed her irritation. "I don't know, and I don't care! You owe me some answers first!"

Gregor turned away, continuing towards their first class. "Even if I wanted to talk, here and now is _not_ the place to talk." Though the answer did not satisfy her in the least, she accepted it rushing up next to him and hooking her elbow in his, shouting back to Larry to hurry up.

Class was uneventful, splitting with the two for math and English, they being in a more advanced classes than he was. They meet back up in the hallway for lunch, Angelina and Larry leaving to find seats, having brought packed lunches from home, Gregor to get the free hot lunch the state gave to students from poor families. Walking towards his friends waving to him from a table in back, Gregor was already in the air before he realized why he had jumped. A peer of black, white, and red skechers had swept out in front of him, aiming for his ankles.

"Oh, sorry man. Didn't mean to scare the pants off you!" The jock laughed to his friends, everyone nearby was staring at them, curious, worried, wondering if they should get up and move somewhere else.

Gregor turned away and began walking away. Gregor sensed the hand coming about to grab his shoulder before is body twisted away, avoiding the boy's grasp and using the momentum to set the try on the table to his right. Stepping away, Gregor waited. The boy stared at his empty hand a moment before turning back to him, they had a real audience now.

"Whoa, dude! What are you like Kung Fu Kid or something."

The jock seemed honestly impressed, not angry. Gregor mumbled something and collected his tray before continuing towards the seat Larry had saved for him. Some of the students that had seen the exchange were pointing at him and whispering to their friends.

"That was cool," Larry commented as he began to eat. Gregor just grunted.

"I expect you to be there and on time," Angelina told him handing him an envelope. "You don't have to get me anything, but you had better show up or I will never forgive you," Angelina warned him as he pulled a hand drawn birthday party invitation from the envelope. Gregor was grateful Larry's question about what she did want for her birthday distracted from his blush, he had completely forgotten. It had been so long since things like birthday parties had been part of his world. Perhaps not so long mathematically, but in his heart it had been a lifetime ago.

Gregor smiled as he listened to his friends argue. They were to meet at Angelina's house, but Angelina's parents were going to take them out to dinner for her birthday. The restaurant she had decided on, and therefore posted on her card, was one he remembered passing on the way back to the car the day they had gone sledding. Trust Angelina to be so thoughtful and considerate of other people on the day, as she put it, "the world celebrates my existence".

Gregor's family needed every cent, so he did not have anything to spare to buy a present for Angelina, but he did manage to make her a pretty nice card using the schools art supplies. It's surprising how much a public school does have that people never take advantage of.

Lizzie stopped him as he was heading out the door. She had seen the invitation, Gregor hadn't even bothered to hide it from her. He had left it on the kitchen table, so his parents would know where he had gone when they got back from the hospital. His grandmother's condition had not changed, but the kind nurse in charge of her was always willing to give his parents a quick check up when they came to visit. After the first visit their parents had taken Gregor, Lizzie, and Boots with, Lizzie had become periodically very concerned for their grandmother at least once a week. Now, his family, or at least his parents, were regular visitors every weekend.

"Take this," she said handing him a plastic Walgreen's bag.

"What is it?"

"Stuff for Luxa, if she comes." She said shyly. "There are some clothes for her, and a hat to cover her hair. I thought I should add ear plugs and sunglasses too, just in case."

"Thanks, Lizzie," he said, giving her a hug.

"Oh," she stopped him again. Take this with too." She handed him a cylindrical case that was almost longer than he was tall.

"What is this for," he asked her, eyeballing the weird case. "_What_ is it?"

"It's a case for fishing pools," she explained. "Mrs. Cormanci lent it to me. She was telling me about how much her husband had loved fishing, and I asked to borrow it. She was confused when I dumped the fishing rods out of it, but she understood when I explained that Luxa might come visit."

"Understood what? What am I supposed to do with this?"

Lizzie sighed with resignation. "It's for her sword, Gregor. Hiding her hair and having her change into normal cloths aren't going to do much good if she has a sword strapped to her hip all night."

"Oh."

Still shaking her head at him, she ushered him out the door and closed it behind him as he left.

"Hey, Angelina! Hello Mr. and Mrs. Burke." If any of them thought his burdens strange they did not show it.

"Why, Hello, Gregor," said Mrs. Burke. "It has been quite a while. I'm glad to see you're doing OK. We were very worried about you. It must have been serious for your mother to pull you out of school for so long." Mr. Burke bobbed his head in agreement with his wife; the ends of his bushy mustache bouncing up and down in time with his head.

Gregor just smiled and nodded, trying not to laugh at the comical sight. I_f only you knew_, he thought.

"Hi, Gregor," Larry waved from the couch.

"OK. Let's get out of here!" Angelina was full of obvious energy and enthusiasm.

"Honey, didn't you say you were expecting one or two more friends," asked Mrs. Burke trying to clam down her exhilarated daughter.

"They're going to meet us in Central Park," Angelina explained.

"Then what are we waiting for," Mr. Burke said and preceded them out the door. "We don't want to keep your friends waiting in the cold!"

"I'm getting an explanation from you now!" Angelina glowed with anticipation at her apparent victory.

"What if she isn't there," Gregor asked, hoping to stem her enthusiasm.

"She will be," Angelina said with confidence. "I left a note down the manhole the day after we went sledding asking her to come back in thirty-five days from the day we last met," she explained. Gregor just stared at her. He was sure the fact that he had not seen Luxa since the day they went sledding meant she had yet to come back. If so, then she yet to find Angelina's note. But, then again, he had not seen Angelina at the manhole either, so...

Gregor gave up thinking about it and kept to hoping Angelina was right.

Angelina's parents dropped them off at the park, and told them to come back to the same spot when they found their friends. Mr. and Mrs. Burke would circle around as best they could until then.

Walking into Central Park, Gregor again began to worry. The sun set early in winter, but that did not necessarily mean people went home earlier. The sun had only just finished setting; there were too many people out. What if they were seen near the manhole? It would be bad if someone decided to put a more permanent top in place to "keep kids from getting hurt playing in places they shouldn't".

What if the moon light was too bright for Luxa's sensitive eyes? What about the noise? Luxa lived in a city, but the noise of Regalia city did not even compare to the noise of a place like New York. Remembering the things Lizzie had made him bring with, he relaxed a little, at least everything would be fine once they left central park.

Luxa was waiting for them when they got to the part of the park with the manhole that lead to the Underland. A soldier was next to her, jumping at every sound. At appearance of the large group, he stepped in front of Luxa, his sword at the ready.

"Hey," Gregor said waving. The guard squinted and relaxed, making out Gregor at the front of the group.

"Gregor," came a very quiet but eager voice. Hazard had been playing in the snow behind Luxa. Lime green eyes shined in excitement as he smiled. Hazard was half Underlander and half Overlander, resulting in a mix of the two skin textures, dark brown hair, and an eye color unlike either of the two peoples had ever seen.

Luxi smiled and stood, hugging him when he got to her.

"Can I have a hug too," Hazard asked it his small, polite voice. More of boots must have rubbed off on him than Gregor had thought.

"Of course," Gregor responded, bending down to hug the boy.

"Aw! There's a little ghost too," Angelina exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down.

All three Underlanders looked at her, confounded. So did Gregor.

"Well ghosts are pail, and you did come from deep in the ground," was Angelina's contrite explanation.

"I was thinking Albino," Larry confessed, shuffling his feet in embarrassment. "Except their eyes are different." That actually was true, excluding Hazard, the Underlanders lacked pigmentation. The exception being their eyes, which had a faint blue pigmentation, resulting in the populations' lavender colored irides.


End file.
